THE ANTIQUITY OF CELTIC COINS.

An inquiry into the antiquity of Celtic Coins during the ante-Roman period, cannot be better commenced than with the decision concerning them pronounced by Edward Hawkins, Esq., Keeper of the Antiquities in the British Museum, who thus speaks upon the subject:

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"The nature of the money circulated in this island among its earliest inhabitants has been involved in much obscurity; and of the numerous writers who have undertaken to discuss the subject, all have ended their labours by an acknowledgment that they could not satisfactorily arrive at any definite expression of opinion.

"If we were to believe the interpretation commonly put upon that passage from Cæsar which every author has quoted, we should confess, that previously to his arrival there was not anything which could fairly be called money, but that the dealings of the people were conducted by means of barter, aided by brass or iron rings adjusted to a certain weight. This passage is the only one which bears directly on the subject before us; and it unfortunately is perplexed with a variety of readings much more numerous than any other passage throughout his whole work. His editors not understanding the subject, and misled perhaps with the idea, that, as the inhabitants of this island were considered barbarians, they could not possess an established currency, have selected from all the readings the one probably the most incorrect. By so doing they have made Cæsar declare that which there is now every reason to believe was untrue, and contrary to that which, in all probability, he really intended to assert.

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"There is in the British Museum a beautiful MS. of Cæsar, of about the tenth century, which reads the passage thus:'utuntur aut ære aut nummo aureo aut annulis ferreis ad certum pondus examinatis pro nummo.'

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"The reading is confirmed by several other manuscripts, while some vary only very slightly; and it may, perhaps, be safely asserted, that every manuscript expressly mentions the use of money, either gold or copper, as prevailing among Britons. It is only about the middle of the seventeenth century that the editors of Cæsar (Scaliger taking the lead) corrupted the passage, and made that writer assert that only substitutes for money were used by the natives. Facts all tend to prove the general correctness of the MSS. and the errors of the editors. For coins of gold, sometimes of silver, and more rarely of copper, are found occasionally in various parts of the island, which, from their form, fabric, and type, cannot have been constructed upon any model introduced subsequent to the establishment of the Romans in Britain. The money of that people is rather thin, quite flat; and such would undoubtedly have been the form of British money, had it been first made after the arrival of the Romans. It is, however, on the contrary, thick and disked exactly after the manner of the Grecian coins, and the types are such as appear to have derived their origin from Macedon. That the coins commonly called British have a Greek origin, is beyond all doubt; that they were struck in this island is also certain, because they are frequently discovered here, and not in any other country; and there is no period in its history when such coins could have been introduced after the arrival of the Romans. The cause appears probably to have been, that, either from commercial visits of the Phoenicians or through the communications which must have taken place between Britain and Gaul, Grecian coins became known in this island, and were coarsely imitated by native artists. These were executed with various degrees of want of skill, till the intercourse with the Romans improved the workmanship; and as this becomes

apparent, upon the coins Roman letters are introduced. Under Cunobeline, British coins attained their greatest perfection, and then finally disappeared; for the Roman power became established in this country, and Roman coins became the only circulating medium.

"In conclusion, it may be safely asserted, that previous to the invasion of Julius Cæsar, in the year 55 A.C., and before the Roman dominion was generally established throughout the island, the Britons had a metallic currency of struck coin upon a Grecian model. Julius Cæsar himself, when correctly read and interpreted, asserts the fact; and the actual discovery of coins in various parts of the island unequivocally confirms it."-Page 8.

The work of Henry Noel Humphries on Ancient Coins (page 56) contains some opinions which cannot easily be harmonized with any existing system, nor indeed satisfactorily with each other. He teaches, in unison with the best authorities on the subject, that the first money in circulation consisted in pieces of metal of a fixed weight, without bearing any stamp; but when it was found in practice, that such pieces did not always correspond with each other, certains kings, states, and communities, affixed to them a stamp representing some symbol revered as sacred by such authorities, and originally, that only one face of the coin received the impression, while the reverse was merely disfigured by the mark of the punch, which was used to keep the piece of metal in its place while it was being hammered down into the die. That the more ancient coins, whether Lydian or Grecian, are all of this character, and that coins inscribed with letters, whether single, double, or triple, were not equally ancient. Yet, when he comes to speak of Celtic coins, he thus expresses his opinions:

"I, therefore, speak here only of such Gaulish coins as may be considered native. It appears that the art of coinage, finding its way northwards through Macedonia and Thrace, must have, at a very early period, found its way into Transalpine